


To Hell And Back

by TheBlackMagister



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bottom Loki (Marvel), Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Happy Ending, Extremely Dubious Consent, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Memory Loss, Mind Control, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Power Imbalance, Tags May Change, Temporary Amnesia, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Torture, thats it thats all there is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:42:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24322981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlackMagister/pseuds/TheBlackMagister
Summary: Brand new to Earth and just out of his imprisonment, Loki meets one Tony Stark. But life is not easy for a man like Loki.OR, what if instead of Hela being locked away it was Loki
Relationships: En Dwi Gast | Grandmaster/Loki, Loki/Thanos (Marvel), Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 17
Kudos: 196





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello please mind the tags, it will get........ messy after a bit & i do not want to trigger anyone!! and ofc, thanks for reading :)

“ _ Urgh _ .”

The first thing Loki becomes aware of is mild pain all over. He’s been so cramped for ages, and his tumble into a -  _ yuck, a trash can? _ \- has not helped. He stumbles out of the piles of trash in a back alley - he’s disoriented, unsure of what planet he’s even on. The last thing he remembers is being on Asgard, chained and on his knees in front of Odin. It’s been so long, only his consciousness floating in the endless void, that he can’t even remember what he’d done.

He blinks as the sun peeks from behind the clouds, setting low on the horizon. The sunlight feels nice on his skin, warming him where he’d been chilled for so long. He takes one shaky step into the light; then another, using the brick wall for support, until he’s standing at the intersection of the alley and the street.

This is Midgard, he can tell at once; human beings, and their buildings and inventions, are very distinct. How he ended up here.. he’s not sure. He’ll take it, though. It should give him time to recover, to build his strength back and come up with a plan. If there’s one thing he’s certain of, it’s that for now, he simply cannot return to Asgard. He lets his eyes close, taking a moment to breathe and relax.

“Hey, kid,” a man says in front of him, and Loki’s head snaps up. The man standing in front of him is about half a head shorter than him, and yet Loki feels.. almost threatened.

“Any particular reason you’re just standing out here?” The man asks, and Loki frowns.

“Why do you care?”

“Well, this is my building,” and the man points up. Loki follows his gaze.  _ Stark _ , it says across the top. A bit gaudy, in Loki’s opinion. But.. maybe he can use this to his advantage. He swallows his pride for a moment.

“Er, well.. I don’t exactly know where I am,” He admits. “I haven’t had a chance to get my bearings..”

“You’re in New York City.”

The man in front of him - Stark, Loki guesses - is cool, though not unfriendly. Loki stares blankly at him: the city name means absolutely nothing to him. Considering the last time he was here was.. was.. he can feel a memory tugging at him, but when he reaches for it, it’s gone.

“Oh,” Stark sighs, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Okay, I get it. Come with me.”

Loki hesitates, but curiosity wins out, and he trots after the man. The lobby of the building is nice, but Stark strides straight through to the back, leaving Loki no time to examine his surroundings. Together they board an elevator; it shoots up, fast enough to make Loki feel suddenly very nauseous. He’s still not recovered from an eternity in a cell the size of his body. He leans against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut, as the elevator slows to a crawl and stops; his stomach is tying itself in knots.

“Hey. You okay?” Stark says, frowning. He looks almost.. concerned. Loki nods once.

“Yes. It’s.. been a while.”

The elevator doors slide open with a soft ding. Stark gives him another sideways glance, but says nothing else about it as they step out of the elevator. Loki pauses to look around as Stark approaches the bar; it’s quite nice here. It’s a lot like-

“I’m having a drink,” Stark announces, pulling a glass down from the cupboard. “You want one?” And then, after a pause, “ _ Can _ you drink?”

“I-” Mildly affronted, Loki frowns, turning to face the man. “Of course I can drink,” He huffs. “Just.. I won’t have any now. Thank you.”

Stark throws him a side glance, but shrugs and pours only for himself. When he turns around Loki is still hovering near the elevator, green eyes scanning the room. Tony knows that look - exit points, places of vulnerability. Loki is prepared to flee. Tony softens a bit towards him.

“Hey. Come sit,” He says, crossing around the bar to the couches. Loki hesitates for a moment, but he does so, making his way over and tentatively settling on the white couch. Stark sighs. “Okay. Let’s talk. Who are you, exactly?”

“My name is Loki,” Loki murmurs. He knows he needs to be cagey with his answers; until he learns who he can trust, everyone is a threat. “Just.. Loki.”

Stark frowns. “So, where did you come from? You just kind of appeared outside.”

“I.. don’t know.” It’s not a total lie. Loki sighs, leaning against the back of the couch. “I have been.. gone.. a long time. I know not where. And then I was here.”

“So, let me get this straight.” Stark shifts to face him, taking a long drink from his glass. “You either don’t have or won’t tell me your last name - you appear out of nowhere, and you don’t know where the other side of that portal is - is there anything  _ not _ suspicious about you?”

“Look,” Loki says quietly. “I.. I’m still trying to get on my feet, alright? I am sorry I cannot tell you more, but there’s.. a lot even I do not know.”

Stark sighs. “Alright, well. Do you have anywhere else to go? I don’t want to just throw you on the street.”

“Unfortunately, no. But I know how to make my own way. I couldn’t ask for your hospitality any more than you have given.” Loki makes to stand, but Stark throws an arm out.

“Wait,” He says, lifting his gaze to Loki’s face. “It’s getting dark out. I’m not just going to let you go out there with nowhere to go. How about you stay for the night and we’ll, you know, figure it out in the morning?”

Loki frowns. He studies Stark’s face, looking for any deception; the only thing he sees is a fierce, earnest determination. Slowly Loki nods. “Alright,” He agrees. “If you insist..”

“I mean, do what’s right, right?” Stark says coolly. “Anyway. Guess I should introduce myself, huh? Name’s Tony. Stark. You might have heard of me?”

“It’s on the building,” Loki says dryly, and Stark - Tony - laughs. “But thank you.”

“Let’s show you to your room,” Tony says, standing from the couch and extending a hand. Loki takes it.

The building is quite nice; not quite as upscale as the palace back home, of course, but it is nice enough to be acceptable at even Loki’s standards. It will do while he regains his strength and makes a plan. As much as he would like to see his family again, he is acutely aware of the fact he wouldn’t be welcomed in Asgard again. And if he can’t go home.. where else is there? Perhaps he’ll stay on Earth. Become mortal, or something. The idea pains him, but he must work with what he’s got.

“This can be your room, for now,” Tony says, opening a nondescript white door - the same as every other damn door in the place. “It’s the, uh, guest bedroom, but it’s what I’ve got, so.”

“It’s fine.” Loki steps into the room, takes a quick catalogue of his surroundings. A large bay window overlooks the city. Night has well and truly fallen, the city lights standing out against the deep color of the sky. There’s a bed against the left-hand wall, adorned with stiff red sheets and several pillows; it is accompanied by a mahogany nightstand, a lamp and clock on top. A dresser sits against the right-hand wall, in the same mahogany wood. What Loki can only assume is the door to the bathroom is tucked near the corner. The walls are beige, the floors hardwood.

It will do, for now.

“Thank you, Tony,” Loki says, pulling his gaze from the room and instead looking over at the other man. Tony shrugs.

“You’re welcome.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to turn in for the night,” Loki continues. He drifts over to the bed and settles. The mattress is a bit firm, but at this point, a bed is a bed. Still standing in the doorway, Tony softens a little, and nods.

“Yeah, course,” He agrees. “I’ll be up, if you need anything.”

Loki murmurs agreement, already eyeing the pillows, and Tony leaves, the door clicking shut after him.

* * *

“Jarvis,” Tony says, once he’s out of earshot of the guest room, “keep an eye on him. Let me know if he does anything, uh, weird.”

_ “Define weird?” _

“You know, like.. if he tries to blow us up, or something.” Tony sighs as he shuts away in his bedroom. He’s not sure what to do with the strange guy from outer space. Lok isn’t the first extra-terrestrial to visit them; but unlike the others, he doesn’t seem particularly hostile. Just.. lost, and sad. Tony doesn’t know what to make of him.

He brings out his phone - the one connecting him to the rest of the Avengers. It would be nice to have backup. He brings up their message sharing system.

“I don’t know who’s available right now,” He says, nervously eyeing himself in the camera. “But, uh. I kind of have E.T. in my guest bedroom right now. He doesn’t seem hostile, but, you know. If anyone’s not on mission I could really use some help around here..”

He hesitates for another moment or two, then sends off the message as is. He won’t be sleeping any time soon, so instead he heads down to the lab to work. He can deal with his new guest in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sry its a bit short and also very late, had a hectic time

Loki wakes with a headache the next morning.

The sunlight is filtering in through the curtains of the giant window; he’d pulled them to last night, but a sliver of light still shines through. He turns over, away from the light, and pulls the pillow over his head with a groan. Slowly the light in the room is filtered out. Loki frowns, lifting his head, and yes, the window has gone dark.

“Hello?” He calls warily.

_ “Hello. How can I help?” _

Loki jumps out of bed in alarm, unsheathing his knife. “Who’s there?” He snaps.

_ “My apologies,” _ The voice says. It’s calm and collected, showing no reaction to Loki’s outburst.  _ “My name is Jarvis. Mr. Stark asked me to tend to your needs.” _

Loki hesitates for a moment. “Tony.. sent you?” He says slowly.

_ “Yes.” _

After another pause, Loki slowly puts the knife away. “Alright,” He says, still wary. “Where is Tony?”

_ “Mr. Stark is in his lab. Should I let him know you’re looking for him?” _

“Yes.”

The voice doesn’t reply, and after a moment Loki figures it’s not going to. He sinks back down on the bed. He needs to pull it together - he’s safe here, he’s sure. And if Odin and Thor do come for him, then he needs to blend in. He takes a deep breath and slicks his hair back, and old self-soothing habit from when he was young.

_ “Mr. Stark will meet you in the lounge.” _

Loki jumps a little at the voice, but this time he’s quicker to soothe himself. “Alright,” He says. “Thank you.”

There’s no answer yet again. Loki sighs and lets himself out of the bedroom; he’s pretty sure he remembers how to get to the sitting area. The hallways are long, and all look the same - which, he supposes, is a decent defense - but he had counted every turn, all but branded it into his head to keep track. Finally he makes his way to the lounge. He’s the first one there, so he takes the moment to examine his surroundings. Tony, it seems, is a fan of the big dramatic windows; several of them line the wall overlooking the city. The only way out is the elevator and the windows - and presumably a staircase - which strikes Loki as a bit curious. The man had seemed so wary of Loki - it seems he should have multiple exit points.

“You rang?” says Tony’s voice behind him, and he turns.

“Yes,” He says coolly. He’s almost lucky he had been royalty; it comes in handy to cover the surprise. “I have a request to ask of you.”

“Oh good, you and I just might be on the same page.” 

Loki frowns. “What’s yours, then?”

“Stay here,” Tony says bluntly, and Loki’s frown deepens. “You don’t even know where you came from, right? So. You should stay for a while. Try and figure things out.”

“You’re right.” Loki agrees. He sinks down onto one of the couches and sighs. “That was going to be what I asked of you. There.. may be people after me,” He adds, trying to delicately reveal enough to seem pitiful, but not weak. “I hope that won’t trouble you?”

“Trust me, I’m used to that,” Tony grumbles. “Good. You can just.. keep the room you’re in.”

Loki nods. “Thank you.” And then, unceremoniously, his stomach growls, and for the first time Tony cracks a grin.

“Hungry?”

Loki hesitates, then says, “Ah.. perhaps..”

Tony makes bacon and eggs - it’s a smaller version of some of the things they would have in Asgard. It’s homey. Nice. They eat in relative silence; Tony’s flipped on on a screen, watching the local news. There’s a few stories about Stark Tower where they sit.

“Very philanthropic,” Loki notes, as the woman goes on about Tony’s donation to homeless children. Tony hums.

“Well, it’s not like I need all of it.”

“So what is it that you do?” Loki says; he sets his plate to the side, and almost immediately a small robot darts up and whisks it away. Loki quirks an eyebrow.

“Oh, you know.. lotta tech,” Tony says, shrugging. “I’m kind of  _ the _ name in technology, since I - well, that’s a long story.”

“Tell me about it,” Loki says curiously. Perhaps there is more to this man than meets the eye. Tony hesitates for a moment.

“Eh.. maybe another time.”

Loki frowns. Tony is.. avoiding something. Tony stands abruptly, handing off his plate to the little robot from before, and claps his hands together. “Well,” He says, “I better get to work. Call if you need anything. Probably best not to leave yet.”

Loki doesn’t get a chance to respond before Tony walks away, down the hall and out of sight. Loki frowns. Tony definitely has a secret.. and Loki would very much like to know what it is.

**Author's Note:**

> also; if anyone has read/liked any of my material, would anyone be interested in a patreon? i'd just like to see if there's any interest. thanks :)


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